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The
Hermits of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of
Mount Carmel
are
a community of men called to a life of silence, solitude, prayer, and penance
for the good of the Church and the salvation of the world. The hermits live in a
Laura, a colony of Hermits living in separate dwellings around a central chapel,
following the original Carmelite rule.
The vocation of the Carmelite Hermit is
the contemplative vocation, and the foundations of his life are the Eucharist,
Sacred Scripture and devotion to Our Blessed Lady under the title of
Our Lady of
Mount
Carmel
. For the hermit the cell is the place of
encounter with God.
The Carmelite Rule states "Let each one remain in his cell, or
near it, meditating day and night on the law of the Lord and keeping vigil in
prayer, unless occupied with other lawful duties." The cell is also the
place where the hermit sleeps and takes his meals alone, except on Sundays and
special days where the hermits eat in a common refectory. The cell is composed
of a study, chapel, bedroom, bathroom, and porch. Each cell is separated from
the next by an enclosed garden.
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